Yarn-supplying mechanism



Jan. 2, 1945. P. s. SMITH YARN SUPPLYING MECHANISM briginaliiled July15, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 mNF., @@@Bm 1- mm NH Jan. 2, 1945.

Original Filed July l5, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 119 3 12o '4 771 f Q QQ f105 1021 9 52 104 c 138 44 86 I |I l I l 88111005 IOO I6 lo 11 l /lO ili 95 E j! 4- I l E 12"? *H* l 911 i 130 t 113` 89 12e fq 112 109 14o 142151 92 1o1\ 12a o 111v i 55. 86 O Oi :O O5 I 9o S 619 O s? 12o .ffzc 3.7 95 93 102 94 a ii 97 96 44 I 9i lNvl-:NToR 'PAUL S. SMITH .Y w BYATTORNEYS Jan. 2, 1945. P. s. sMrrH YARN SUPPLYING MECHANISM 3Sheets-Shet 3 Original Filed July 15, 1940 v lNvErI-roR PAUL 5.5MITHATTORNEYS Patented dan.' i945 UNITED STATES PATENT. oFFlcE 2,366,364rAaN-snrrLrmG MacnANlsM Paul S. Smith, Rockford, lll., assignor, bymesneassignments, to Ellen Bertha Allen, Birmingham, Mich.

Original application July 15,

1940, Serial No.

345,448. Divided and this application April 1-7, 1942, Serial No.439,439

s claims. (cl. er1-'2.1)

This application 'is a division of my co-pending application, Serial No,345,448, filed July 15, 1940, for Apparatus for making cemented pilefabric,

-upon which U. S. Patent No. 2,302,'l02,- was granted November 24, 1942,that is to say, apparatus for use in the manufacture o'f that type ofpile fabric in which the fibers forming thepile are attached to abackingfabric by lcementlng material. 'I'he invention of saidapplication relates to improvements upon the apparatus disclosed andclaimed in United States Letters Patent, No.'2,050,740, patented to meon August 11, 1936, and the apparatus forming the subjectmatter ofsaidap'plication is useful in carrying out the method disclosed andclaimed in United States/Letters Patent, No. 2,051,010, also-patportions of the pile fibers cemented to the backing sheet. Such bersmay be applied either in the form of yarn or as unspun fibers. Theprincipal object of the invention forming the subject of my saidapplication, Serial No. 345,448, (Patent No. 2,302,722) was to providean improved apparatus by means of which such vcemented pile fabric canbe manufactured at a lower cost than is possible by apparatus heretoforeproposed for use.

The principal object of my present invenltion is to provide ayarn-supplying or warp draw-oi! mechanism which creates and maintains aslack supply of yarn or warp, that is particularlyuseful in connectionwith a machine for making cemented pile fabric, including a plaitingmechanism, in that the tension on the several yarns nism will be aminimum, corresponding only to the effort 'of drawing the yarns from thedrawolf mechanism, thus entirely relieving the plaiting mechanism oftheconsiderable work of drawing'the warp from a beam or creel andresulting in a better product.

. A further object of my invention is to provide a yarnsupplyingmechanism which includes a clamp and a pair of loop-forming devices, oneon either side of the clamp-and means for operating v the clamp and theloop-forming devices in such of the warp supplied to the plaitingmechatimed relation as to create and maintain a slack supply of yarn tofeed the machine in which the yarn is used.

Further objects, a d objects relating to details of construction andeconomies of manufacture, will denitely appear, from the detaileddescription to follow. In one instance, I have accomplished the objectsof my invention by the devices and means set forth in the followingspecification. My invention is clearly deiined and pointed out 1n theappena d c1a1ms.' A structure constituting a preferre invention isillustrated in Ythe accompanying drawings, lforming a part of thisspecication, in

which:

Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of a portion. of the machine formaking cemented pile fabric in connection with which my improved Iyarn-supplying mechanism is used;

Fig. -2 is a top plan view of the yarn-supplying mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view4 taken on the line I-3 of Fig. 2;

Fis. 4 is a vertical sectional view, on an enlarged scale, through theyarn-supplying mechanism; and Fig. 5 is a detail view in verticallsection illustrating one of the actuating cams and its connections toone of the the` yarn-supplying mechanism.

In .the drawings, similar reference numerals refer to similar partsthroughout the several views and .the sectional view is taken looking inthe direction of the arrows at the ends of thesection line. v

In a machine for making cemented pile fabric by plaiting a warp of yarnabout severable separator strips, I have found it highly desirable thatthe warp of yarn should be fed to the plaiting mechanism in a slackcondition. To accomplish warp draw-off or yarnthis, I have provided a Ysupplying mechanism, which performs the work of drawing yarn or warpfrom a creel or beam and, at the same time, creates and maintains aslack supply from which the plaiting mechanism draws. This mechanismcomprises a clamping device, through which the warp passes and which Y vis opened and closed to release and grip the yarn.

I provide two loop-forming devices, one operating in advance of theclamping device and the other on the other side thereof, The operationof these loop-forming devices is so timed with relation to the operationof the clamping device that, when the clamping device is closed, theloop-forming device in advance thereof operates to draw yarn .embodimentof the V loop-forming devices of from a source of supply and form a loopof slack yarn or warp in advance of the clamping device.

The operation of the7 second loop-forming device is so timed that, whenthe clamp is opened,

it will draw through the clamp warp or yarn from the loop previouslyformed by the first loop-forming device, so as to create a loop or slacksupply of yarn for which the plaiting mechanism draws as needed. Theplaiting mechanism thus operates at al1 times on a warp consisting ofindividually slack yarns.

Referring to the numbered parts of the drawings, upon a base (not shown)there are mountp mitted to it by driving connectionsy to the verticalshaft 48. On the upper end of shaft 48, there is a bevel pinion 49meshing with the bevel gear 50, which is secured to the shaft I, wherebythat shaft is driven. Secured to shaft 48 is a spir-al gear 52 meshingwith a spiral pinion 53 on a pinion 55 meshing with a spiral gear 56secured to retaining Enger release .shaft 51, whereby shaft 51 isdriven. A worm 58 is also secured to shaft 54 and meshes with a, wormgear 59 secured to yarn-supplying c am shaft 00, whereby that shaft isdriven to actuate the cams for the yarn-supplying mechanism.

'I'he yarn-supplying or warp draw-01T mechanism, forming thesubject-matter of my present cross-shaft 54. Shaft 54 carries anotherspiral invention, creates and maintains a slack supply l of warp or yarnfor feeding the plaiting mechanism. This yarn-supplying mechanismcomprises a pair of tension rolls 83, 84 (Fig. 1), each having'trunnions85, 86, at opposite ends, which rest vin vertical slots 81 of brackets88' secured to the rails 44. The yarns going to make upthe warp A comefrom a suitable source of supply and pass underneath the lower tensionroll 83, thence'up and between the tension rolls 83 and 84, and over thetop roll 84, to the yarn-supplying mechanism.- A guide roll 89 is alsoprovided, journaled in brackets 90 mounted on the rails 44, and locatedsubstantially vertically above the mouth of the conningvpassage in whichthe plaited structure is to be formed. The warp A passes over the guideroll 89, thence through the lplaiting mechanism to the mouth of theconfining passage and, as the plaited structure is formed 4about thestrips in the mouth of saidpassage, the warp is drawn from the slacksupply created and mauitained by the yarn-supplying mechanism in advanceof the guide roll 89.

'I'he yarn-supplying mechanism includes a clamping device through whichthe warp passes, which clamping device is 'adapted to be closed to gripvthe yarns of the warp and opened to release them. This clamping device`includes a lower clamping bar 9| (Fig. 4), secured to and extendingtransversely between the rails 44.4

Vertical studs 92 are screwed intothe ends of bar 9| and the channelmember 93, forming the' upper member of the clamping device,'is slidablymounted on the studs 92, having sleeves ,94

aseasec secured thereto which are slidabie on the studs 92. Compressionsprings 95 surround the sleeve 94 and are compressed between the base ofchannel member 93 and nuts screwed on the upper ends of the studs 92.'I'hese springs normally bring the upper member 93 of the clampingdevice into clamping engagement with the bar 9| thereof. A bar 96 issecured to the bottom of member 93 by screws 91 and is enveloped in asheet 98 of suitable material, such -as emerycloth, so as to provide asurface which will grip well upon the yarns of the `warp passing throughthe clamping device.

At each end of the clamping device, there is a lever 99 pivoted at |00in a. bracket |0|, mounted on the corresponding rail 44. Each of theselevers is pivotally connected by a pin |02 (Fig. 3) with the adjacentend of the upper clamping member 93. The outer end of each lever 99(Fig. 4) is pivotally connected at |03 with the upper end of a link |04,the lower end of which is pivoted to a rocker arm |05, `iournaled onshaft |06, which'is carried by and extends between the frame members 31and 38. Each rocker arm |05 carries a roller |05' engaging an edge cam|01, fast on the cam shaft 60.

Fixed in brackets |08, secured to the side of the upper clamping bar 93,are pins |09, which extend downwardly alongside the lower clamping bar9|, and are so 'located as to serve as edge guides for the warp of yarnpassing through the clamping device.

The rst loop-forming bail is located between the rollers 83, 84, and theclamping device, and the warp of yarn, as it leaves said rollers, passesbeneath the said bail and thence between the lower clamping bar 9| andthe upper clamping bar 93. A shaft |I0 is journaled in brackets (Fig.2), mounted on the side rails 44. The arms ||2 of the bail are securedto shaft H0,

and support the roller bail H3, which extends above the warp of yarn, asshown in Fig. 2. Operating arms ||4, one at each side, are secured toshaft H0. and these arms are pivotally connected to the upper ends oflinks `H5 (Fig. 4), the lower ends of which are pivoted to rockers ||6journaled on shaft |06. Each rocker carries a roller ||1,vwhich engagesthe edge of a corresponding cam ||8, fixed on cam shaft 60. It will benoted that the shape of cams ||8 is such that there is a comparativelyslow rise from the low to the highv spot of the cam, and a quickerreturn from said high 'spot to the. low spot. Thus, las the earn`rotates in the direction of the arrow 'indicated in Fig. 1, the links||5 are raised rather slowly, thus slowly rocking the bail H3 upward.The bail is maintained in its upper position by the high surfaces of thecams which occupy about one-third of the cam peripheries. The shape ofthe cams is such that the bail is returned more rapidly from its highposition to the low position illustrated in Fig. 4.

Spring connections are provided which tend to rock the rst loop-formingbail into the lower loop-forming position, shown in Fig. 4.k Thesespring connections comprise sectors ||9, fixed to shaft ||0 to which theupper ends of cables |21 are connected at. |20. The lower ends of thesecables are connected to tension springs |22, which, in turn, areconnected tothe upper ends of cables |23, the lowerends of which arefastened to rings inthe base 35.

Guide fingers |25 Flg. 2), having their rear .ends bent back uponthemselves, are secured "as at 12s to the bananasv nz, as shown in Figs.2

and 4, and serve as edge guides for the warpl clamping device, passes.under' said Abail and',

thence, over the roller 09 to the plaiting mechanism. Shaft |21 (Fig. 4)is journaled in brackets |28 secured to the side rails 44. 'I'he arms|29 of the second loop-forming bail are secured to shaft'l |21 andsupport the roller bail 30, under which the warp of yarns passes. Anoperating arm |3| (Fig. 1) is secured to shaft |21 adjacent one of theside rails M, and the lower end of this arm is connected to the upperend of a link |32, the lower end of which is con nected at |4| (Fig. 5)to one arm |33 of a two- "armed lever pivoted on shaft |34. The otherrarm |35 of this lever is connected' to the upper end of a link |36, thelower end of which is pivotally connected to a .rocker arm |31,journaled on shaft |06. Rocker arm |31 carries a roller |38y whichengages the edge of a cam |39, fast on the cam shaft 60. Considerationof the shape of cam |39 will show that, as cam shaft 60 revolves, thesecond loop-forming bail is gradually lowered from the position shown inFig. 1 to its lowermost position, drawing the warp of yarns through theclamping device, which is, at that time, opened, and, then, the rollerbail is as gradually returned to its position. A spring |40,

connected at one end to the pin Ill, and, at the other end, to a bracket|42 (Fig. 1) on the side rail M, tends to move the -bail |30 to thelower position, and to hold roller |38 in contact with the-edge of cam|39.

Referring to Fig. 4, a consideration of the con- I tour of theclamp-operating cams |01 will show 'that the clamp remains open duringabout twothirds of the cycle. Considering the ,contour of f the cams H8,which operate the first loop-forming bail 3, it will be apparent thatthe ball moves\fupward slowly during about one-half of the cycle, dwellsin its uppermost position during the ensuing one-third, and fallsrapidly during the remaining one-sixth. Consideration of the relativetiming of these cams will show that the clamp remains closedy during thedownward loop-forming movement of the bail H3 and remains open duringits upward movement and dwell. f

Referring to Figs. 4' and 5, and regardingone revolution of the cams|01, 8 and |39 as constituting a cycle of the draw-ofi mechanism, it

will be noted that, in the position shown in Fig..4, the bail ||3 is inits lowest position, having com- Y of warp thusformed may be drawnthrough the open clamp =by the operation of the second loopforming bail|30, and by the action of the plaiting mechanism. When the cam ||8 hascomlpleted about live-sixths of a revolution from the position shown inFig. 4, the* cam I 01 will lhave the position shown, forming a new loopin the warp, and completing the cycle.

Referring, now, to Fig. 5, it willbe noted that the cam |39 has twosymmetrical lobes and is thus adapted to produce uniform movement of thearms |29 of the second loop-forming bail 30, from the position shown inFig. 4 downward to a position substantially at right angles thereto,and, similarly, to return them totheir ioriginal positions, thus forminga loop of warp between'the clamp and the roller 89. The cam |39 in Fig.5 is shown substantially in timed relationship with cams |01and 'H0 inFig. 4. From the position shown, a slight further rotation of the shaftwill cause the cam |01 to open the clamp, while the cam ||8 will beginto lift the =bail H3 from the loop it has just formed. At the same time,the cam |39 will have raised the bail |30 to its highest position fromwhich it will immediately commence to descend, drawingslack warp throughthe clamp to form a loop between the clamp and the lroller 89, while,simultaneously, the plaiting mechanism draws the required slack warpfrom the loop released by the rising bail H3, through the open clamp.and under the descending bail |30. Shortly prior to the closing of theclamp, the bail |30 will have completed its downward movement andstarted to rise, which it will continue to do throughout the remainderof the cycle, while the plaiting ing the period when the clamp isclosed. Under` these conditions, the draw-oil device is inherently andautomatically self-compensating, in

k cated by the appended claims.

that there will always be 'slack yarn available for the plaitingmechanism and, yet, in the long run, only the exact amount of warprequired for an indenite series of lplaiting'operations will bewithdrawn from `the source of supply.

In the specification,` and the appended claims,

the term"wai'p is used as meaning either a warp of spun yarns or a batof unspun bers.

I am aware that the apparatus here shown is rsusceptible of considerablevariation without'v departing from the spirit 'of my invention and,

therefore, I claim my invention broadly as-indi- What I claim is: 1. Ayarn supplying mechanism comprising the combination of'a clamping devicethrough which the yarn passes, means for operating said clamping deviceto alternately grip and release said yarn, a first loop-forming deviceacting on the yarn in advance o! said clamping device, means foractuating said first loop-forming device to draw yarn from a supply andform a -rst loop therein in advance of said clamping device as it gripsthe yarn and to move and remain out of engagement with 'said 1oop`whi1ethe clamping device releases the yarn, a second loop-forming deviceacting .on the yarn in the rear of said clamping device, and means foractuating said reached such a position as to have just closed theclamp,.w hereuponffurther rotation of the cam second loop-formingdeviceto draw yarn from said rst loopthrough said clamping device as itreleases the yarn. to form` a second loop in the rear of said clampingdevice and to move and remain out of engagement with said second loopduring most of the cycle. y

2. A yarn supplying mechanism comprising the combinatio-n of a clampingdevice through which the yarn passes, means for operating said clampingdevice to alternately grip and release said yarn, a first loop-formingbail pivoted in advance of said clamping device, means for rocking saidbail as said clamping device grips the yarn to cause said bail to engageand draw the yarn from a supply to form a iirst loop therein in advanceof said clamping device and to recede therefrom leaving a free loop andfor maintaining said bail out 'of engagement with said loop while theclamping device releases said yarn, a second loop-forming bail pivotedin the rear of said clamping device, and means for rocking said secondloop-forming bail to cause it to engage said yarn while it is releasedto draw yarn from said first loop through said clamping device and formasecond loop in rear thereof and for maintaining said second bail out ofengagement with said second loop during most of the cycle.

3. A yarn supplying mechanism comprising the combination of a clampingdevice through which the. yarn passes, spring means acting on saidclamping device and tending to close the same to grip the yarn, meansfor opening said clamping device against the action of said spring meansto release the yarn, a iirst loop-forming bail pivoted in advance ofsaid clamping device, means for rocking said bail to cause it to act onand draw yarn from a supply to form a lir'st loop therein in advance ofsaid clamping device while the latter is closed by the spring means togrip the yarn and for maintaining said bail out` of aseasee device, andmeans for actuating said second loopforming device to draw yarn fromsaid rst loop through said clamping device while it releases the yarn toform a second loop in the rear of said.

clamping device and to recede therefrom leaving a free loop'forming aslack supply of yarn, said last-named means being such that the secondloop-forming device remains outl of engagement with the Second loopduring most 0f the cycle.

5. A yarn supplying mechanism comprising the combination of a, clampingdevice through which the yarn passes, means for operating said clampingdevice tov alternatelygrip and release said yarn, a first loop-formingbail pivoted. in advance of said clamping device, means for rocking saidbail While said clamping device grips the yarn to cause said bail todraw yarn from a supply to form a rst loop therein in advance of saidclamping device and recede therefrom leaving the loop free, saidlast-named means being such that the first bail remains out ofengagement withthe rst loop while the clamping device releases the yarn,a second loop-,forming bail pivoted in rear of said clamping device, andmeans for rocking said second bail While said clamping device releasesthe yarn to cause Said secondbail to engage and draw yarn from saidfirst loop through saidv clamping device to form a second loop in therear .thereof andto recede leaving a free loop forming a ,slack supplyofyarn, said last-named means being such that the second bail is out .ofengagement with the second loop during most of the cycle.

engagement with said iirst loop While the clamp- `and draw it from saidfirst loop through said clamping device to form a second loop in therear thereof, said last-named means being such as to maintain the secondbail out of engagement with the second loop during most of the cycle.`

4. A yarn supplying mechanism comprising the combination of a clampingdevice through which the yarn passes, means for operating said clam-p.ing device t0 alternately grip and release said yarn, a iirstloop-forming device acting on the yarn in advancev of said clampingdevice, means for actuating said first loop-forming device to draw yarnfrom a supply and form a first loop therein in advance of said clampingdevice while ment with said loop while said clamping device releases theyarn, a second loop-forming device acting on the yarn in the rear ofsaid clamping it grips the yarn and to remain out of engage- .6. A yarnsupplying mechanism comprising the combination of a clamping devicethrough which the yarn passes, spring means acting to normallyv closesaid clamping device to grip the yarn, means for opening .said clampingdevice against the tension of said spring -means to releasesaid yarn, arst loop-forming bail pivoted in advance of said clamping device, meansfor rocking said bail while said clamping device is closed to cause saidbail to engage and draw yarn from a supply to f orm aA rst loop thereinin advance of said clamping device and to recede therefrom leaving afree loop, said last-named means being such as to cause the rst bail toremain out of engagement with the rst loop While the clamping device isopen, a second loop-forming bail pivoted in the rear of said clampingdevice, and means for rocking'said second bail While said clampingdevice is open to cause said second bail to engage .and draw yarnthrough said clamping dev ice from said first loop to form a second loopin the rear -of the clamping device and to recede therefrom leaving afree loop forming ai slack supply. ofv yarn, saidlast-n'amed means beingsuchA that the second bail is outJl of engagement with the second loopduring most of the cycle.

y PAUL S. SMITH.

